Texas Congressional Delegation at work

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Saturday, July 28

Good morning, TexMessengers! Today in 1868, the 14th amendment to the Constitution was certified.

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Joe Barton released a bill Thursday that seeks to bring the salaries of federal consultants down, saying the amounts paid to employees by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency are hallmarks of a “runaway program.”

The HHS Employee Compensation Reform Act of 2012 aims to control the use of the flexible pay mechanism stipulated by Title 42 of the Public Health Service Act, which Barton said is responsible for inflated salaries in various governmental agencies and departments.

Barton, the Chairman Emeritus of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said his committee has been investigating Title 42 “for several years.” Barton, R- Ennis, released a joint statement with Rep. Cliff Stearns, R- Fl., attacking the provision.

“This is commonsense legislation that will rein in this runaway program. Title 42 was designed to help [the Department of Health and Human Services], and HHS only, hire and retain the best and brightest minds in medical research. But now, it appears to be a loophole that allows the government to pay over 6,400 employees enlarged salaries up to $350,000,” the statement read. “The EPA is using the program to compensate dozens of employees as well. With no guidelines and no oversight, it looks like bureaucrats at these agencies have been inflating their salaries at taxpayer expense. These agencies should be responsible for explaining why they are forking over so many six figure salaries.”

The legislation would restrict the use of Title 42 to only the HHS, and would limit that department’s total number of Title 42 employees to five percent of total employees. It would also enact a salary cap for Title 42 employees and require HHS to report on its use of the act to Congress.

Every morning, we share some headlines from the 2012 presidential campaigns.